Hometown Hero Outdoors
Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast, where we’re more than just a show—we’re a mission. As a non-profit dedicated to enhancing mental health through life-changing outdoor adventures for military service members, veterans, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel, we bring you stories of resilience, healing, and community.
🌲 Why Listen?
- Over 5,000 heroes have experienced the healing power of the outdoors with us—through activities like hunting, fishing, camping, snowmobiling, and more.
- 85% of participants report reduced stress, increased camaraderie, and a renewed sense of purpose after our adventures.
- We share inspiring stories of mental health advocacy and people overcoming the toughest challenges, highlighting the profound impact of reconnecting with nature.
Whether you’re here for thrilling outdoor adventures, meaningful conversations about mental health, or to hear from real people who’ve used the outdoors to heal and grow, this podcast has something for everyone.
🎧 Subscribe now and join us on this journey of healing, resilience, and the transformative power of the great outdoors!
Hometown Hero Outdoors
Fire Fighter Fenton - Finding Laughter in the Flames with Brent Fenton
Firefighter Fenton, aka Brent Fenton, takes us on an extraordinary journey through his two-decade career as a captain and paramedic in Arizona's fire service. His experiences highlight the intense challenges of recruitment and the evolving landscape of public safety, all while maintaining a light-hearted look at life through his comedic social media presence.
Brent's career is marked by his rise through the ranks, from a reserve firefighter to captain, with his father's medical emergency solidifying his decision to pursue paramedic training. His insights into the importance of experience before promotion, the rigorous promotional exams, and the lessons learned from setbacks provide a window into the realities of fire service. Adding to the mix is Brent's unexpected rise to social media fame through a humorous music video parody, which humanizes the badge and offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into firefighting, despite initial departmental hurdles.
This episode also dives into Brent's collaborations with Fire Department Coffee and his involvement with wildland fire teams, showcasing his commitment to bringing humor and camaraderie to audiences. Brent touches on the significance of maintaining mental health and the healing power of nature, sharing personal insights on balancing work stress with hobbies, family, and faith. Join us for an engaging conversation filled with humor, resilience, and lessons that resonate with first responders and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
Produced by Phil Ewert Productions
Theme Music: Hero's Journey
Joel Loopez Tunepocket.com
Licensed by: Phil Ewert Productions
hometownherooutdoors.org
In the land of 10,000 lakes, a remarkable movement was born. Welcome to Hometown Hero Outdoors. We are dedicated to honoring our military service members, veterans and first responders by providing them with unforgettable outdoor recreational opportunities. We believe those who have served and sacrificed so much for our country and communities deserve a chance to reclaim their spirit and find healing in the great outdoors. This is Hometown Hero Outdoors. Welcome to the Hometown Hero Outdoors Podcast. Here is your host, chris.
Speaker 2:Tatro and today's another fall day. As we're getting into fall at the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast, we're super excited to have Brent here today. Brent Fenton is also known as Firefire Fenton. He has a large social media presence. If you guys haven't seen it, go look him up real quick. You'll figure out who he is and then get back to the podcast and listen to everything here.
Speaker 2:Pretty awesome guy, as you can see. If you're watching the video you'll see, but if you're listening to the podcast he's got a bull right behind him. So he's an outdoors enthusiast too. He likes to do his elk hunting and mule deer, but he's amassed over 1 million followers across this platform, which gives viewers a peek behind the curtains of fire service through a comedic lens. Brent is a captain and paramedic with 20 years of fire service serving in arizona and he has been married to his wonderful wife stephanie I added the wonderful part for you for 14 years and together they have four children. Brent has a love for jesus, his family and the outdoors. So, brent, thank you for coming on the podcast. I know it was a little dance there for a little bit, but lives, lives happen, but you're here, so thank you for being here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2:I'm glad to be here. So what's the weather like in Arizona today in late September?
Speaker 3:It made me laugh that you said fall, because right now, well, the height today is supposed to be 104. Yesterday we hit like unseasonably, the last two days, um, it was 114. On saturday, it was 112, yesterday and today it's supposed to be, yeah, 104. So it's oppressive. It's not fall. Yeah, not yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're getting there for us too. Uh, we had a little cold snap there here in minnesota a little bit ago where we were waking up to 45 degrees in the morning for a couple days and, my gosh, it was wonderful. I actually just got back from, uh, galveston and actually I was down with the relentless defender foundation, gala, and we went down to galveston and it was 97 degrees out with like 70 humidity, and then we came back to 45 degrees and I was thankful oh, yeah, seriously, yeah, we don't have that that.
Speaker 3:That is one thing about here is we don't have any humidity, but it is just this summer is holding on with both hands.
Speaker 2:Ready for that break in the weather so you can get outdoors and do some more stuff and take a break on the air conditioning bill.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, it literally what? Probably a week and a half ago we got, we thought it was happening. We're like oh, it's going to happen. Early it dropped down to like 88 degrees.
Speaker 2:Everybody was outdoors loving life and then it was like nope, not yet, here's another 110 run. Just kidding. Yeah, no, that's too hot for me. I spent some time in iraq and that was it's like that it's. It's just terribly hot and uh, yeah, there's nothing enjoyable any of it. But it is crazy though, because I mean you started hitting those 70s or 60s sometimes and then you're like I gotta put a jacket on oh yeah, when it hits 70 degrees I'm like, oh, this is hoodie weather, yeah it's crazy because here that's like 50 for me kids above that I'm sweating way too much, but but hey.
Speaker 2:So, yes, thanks for being on the show. You know, um, I really want to have our listeners learn who you are as a person, um, talk about who you are, where you came from, how you got into the profession you are. There's a lot of things to talk about. You know, you have your large social media presence with your, your humor that you do. Um, I love them when they come out. Um, and then also, uh, you have a really good relationship with fire department coffee and uh, talk about your involvement there and maybe some outdoor stuff. But why don't you just tell our listeners who you are, where you came from and how you got to where you are right now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so as you stated and it says here, my name is Brent Fenton. I'm born and raised in Arizona. I'm married to my wife, stephanie. We got four kids. Yeah, I've been in the fire service for just over 20 years and six months and so it's good. I've got an older sister. She's also a firefighter here in Arizona as well as her husband. So our entire family was law enforcement and then my sister and I kind of shifted with their encouragement to go out to the fireside. So my dad did 26 years with the Phoenix police department. I got another uncle who did 25 with Phoenix and another uncle that did 20 with East Valley department. So yeah, like I said, born and raised here and got gotten the fire service and haven't looked back.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's probably good advice on their part. I mean, I love law enforcement, but man, it's a lot.
Speaker 3:I was gung-ho. I was gung-ho to be a police officer. I wanted to follow my dad's footsteps. When I was 16, I was going on ride-alongs all the time and then, towards the end, when I was a senior in high school, um, one of his officers got he my dad was a sergeant one of his officers unfortunately got uh, ambushed and got shot and killed and my dad took that really hard. He was, um, he was one of the first guys there to find him and just took it really hard, took it very personal, um, uh, a lot of blame for he took a lot of the felt the responsibility, felt like it was his fault.
Speaker 3:That Mark was situation and, um, you know, I just remember him telling me like he's, like, I'm not going to your funeral, go be a firefighter. He encouraged me to go on a ride along with some of his buddies with the city of Phoenix and, uh, did some rides and, you know, I, I, I, I always I tell the story I was bait and switch, for sure. It's like the very first ride along. I went on, I was with one of his buddies from high school and we went there and they let me, he let me stay 24 hours, which is like now that I know I'm like having a rider 24 hours would be really annoying, but right, but he let me stay for 24 hours.
Speaker 3:And at like two in the morning, I mean during that shift they we had gunshot wounds, stabbings, um, car accidents, like all the exciting things you know. I mean the bigger calls that people are like oh, this is crazy, you know, right, no real like medical assist, no medical aid, nothing like that. And then at like two in the morning, we get a structure fire. When we get there it spreads to the next house and i'm'm watching these guys kick in doors and disappear into smoke and I'm like this is it. And then, you know, now, fast forward here I am over 20 years on and those shifts are few and far between. They do happen, but it's not all the time, and I was like this is what you do every day.
Speaker 2:And of course they're like time, absolutely yeah, that's good. Well, I mean, I mean, firefighting does have its complications too, you know. I mean you guys do get exposed to quite a bit of trauma as well, and uh yeah, but I I have a friend that actually uh, just recently, three years ago, moved down to the phoenix. She's a law enforcement officer and she's talking about how difficult and strapped they are for staffing, just filling the ranks to cover all the shifts and a lot of mandatory overtime type stuff. And I think you guys excuse me, I don't have his exact name, but you guys recently lost a partner down there- yeah, city of Phoenix.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, it's crazy. Yep, yeah, it's, it's crazy. I remember, you know, growing up, when, when you know the police department, police department, fire department, I mean it's, it's, it's, it's interesting the shift that has happened, because there was thousands of people applying for you know, a handful of positions, at least in the fire service, when I was first testing, like it wasn't uncommon to have, um, like literally 10,000 people. They'd go down to the city of Phoenix civic center and have it completely filled up with people that have to do two separate tests, like 5,000 people at a time, and you'd be testing for like 50 spots and it's just insane. Like the, the uh, uh, the competition was crazy and same thing with law enforcement. And now it's like I, like I, I, when I noticed like something is different, was when I started seeing the police. Cars used to be a decal that said we're hiring, and they would put it on and take it off. And now they, every car that comes new is just painted, we're hiring, it's just painted, it never leaves the car, they're just always hiring.
Speaker 2:And yeah, it's crazy yeah, she's told me some of the stories about how crazy it is and days off are never days off and consistently getting called in to help out with different stuff and that's a tough life to live, you know, constantly having to have your phone next to you. Well, as far as your time in Arizona and you started your career as a firefighter did you start off? Just walk us through your history of how you started off. You went to the academy, got launched and then talk us as you've gone through the ranks and to be where you are currently yeah.
Speaker 3:So, um, you know, I got hired on as a firefighter um back in 2004. Um, and I started out in 2003 is what was called a reserve at the time, so it, it was kind of like a um, almost like a training position. It wasn't a volunteer, it was paid. You got paid per call uh, very minimal Um, but you got to do a lot. You got to do basically everything. You were just an extra guy on the crew and it was really good. It kind of helped um launch you into your career and prepare you for the position that you ran. And so um became full-time in 2004. Um, and just kind of my my initial goals, you know, I wanted to do all the hero stuff. I was like, oh man, I want to. I want to be a rescue guy. I want to do that. And and I still like, I love, I love all that stuff Um, I hit, I basically hit every goal that I had my, my, I never wanted to be a paramedic.
Speaker 3:My dad, when I was about two and a half years on the job, we went back to Washington DC. This is all another unfortunate series of events. His best friend was shot and killed on Phoenix PD and we went back to Washington DC for the Fallen Police Officers Memorial and while we were there my dad suffered a heart attack, and so it's kind of freaky. Thankfully, everything worked out. He made a full recovery. He didn't really suffer any deficits or any issues. By the grace of God, everything was good. But I felt very uneasy in that whole time because I was an EMT. I wasn't very educated in anything beyond just basic life support. You know, I didn't know anything about cardiology or anything like that, and I'm like watching the medics as they're working on my dad and and the doctor had said you know, the positive outcome from my dad came from the quick recognition of the paramedics and their early interventions that they did. That's what ultimately saved his life.
Speaker 3:And I'm like man, that's crazy. And so I'm like I got to go to medic school Cause I'm like I want to if I could do that for somebody else. I got to do this. So I went to medic school, um. Uh, so I've been a paramedic now for almost 18 years. Love it, um.
Speaker 3:But I went to medic school, Um, I worked as a firefighter for 17 years, so I I stayed. I never wanted to drive the truck, um, I tested and got on the engineer's list, but my intention was that, using that as just a stepping stone to go to captain I didn't really ever want to drive so tested for engineer, past that, um, and then, yeah, at 17 years on, I promoted a captain and that was kind of a plan for me. I wanted to make sure that I had a good amount of experience as a backseat guy, to make sure that I was very well prepared to be in a supervisor role, and that was kind of again following in my dad's footsteps. He was, uh, I think he was an officer for 18 years before he promoted to Sergeant and, um, I think it served me well. I think it, you know it definitely served him well, you know, I think you, you definitely um, earn the respect to your peers when, uh, you know how to do the job and you've kind of been in it for a while and and uh, so it's definitely prepared me to be a good captain.
Speaker 3:That I am Um, I may not sound like I'm freaking.
Speaker 2:No, no, you're prepared and you're comfortable. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I feel comfortable. Again, I'm constantly learning. I'll always be learning, but it definitely. I spent a long time in the backseat doing that worker B role Not that we don't work as captains, but it's just a different role. You know, you just pivot and now you're doing more of the supervisor, big picture things, and it's been into a lot of scenarios now that I can remember back, recall when I was a firefighter and you know kind of be able to forecast what may or may not happen next kind of thing.
Speaker 2:Right. You know my experience too with people who are on for quite a bit of time before they promote, generally don't have any ambition to promote period. There's usually something like a catalyst that happens and you're like all right now, now, now I'm ready, or you're ready for some change. You know, um, new scenery, and just like making sure you're prepared. I know, like in my career. They say that you know, as a conservation officer, that it takes you seven years to absolutely experience absolutely everything in your career field and everything you've learned you know. And so a lot of people aren't promoting until much after that because we want to have the answers before that it pops up, especially for the people that you're in command of. You know so. But there's sometimes there's a little catalyst that helps a little push. You see something that happens or you want to change something here and you know you feel comfortable in your shoes at that point. Is that something that happened with you? You know so.
Speaker 3:I always, I always want. My goal was always 10 years. I'm going to do 10 years and then I'm going to promote. And, um, at 10 years, I took the test. I passed, I got in the top five and they only needed four spots. So that, yeah, so I just it's just one of those like it sucked but I made it and I was happy. I was, I was shooting for it, I wanted to get in the top five. I got number five. I was happy with that. As my first time ever or captain promotional exam, I should say so I didn't know what to expect but I achieved that. But then I got to act. So when you're on a promotional list, then you can act in that role.
Speaker 3:People call out sick or different things, or if somebody gets injured and they need a long-term move up guide. I got to do that for a bit and I had some like I'm not going to, I'll be completely honest I so I didn't get it on that list. And then the next test I took, I didn't pass and that was a huge shot. That was probably a, that was probably. I always say it. You know, at the time it was like devastating. But now I look back and I'm like I needed that because I feel like I was getting a little too comfortable, probably a little, uh, overconfident in myself and my abilities, and it was a, it was a knockback, granted it. Um, there's, you know, there's always different things, but I'm not going to make any excuses.
Speaker 3:The fact of the matter is is that I didn't pass that test and so it sucked and so I had to do like a remedial training and things like that. And then I did the remedial smoke, that, and the chiefs were like, why didn't you do that during the first test? And I I'm like I thought I did, but I guess I didn't. And then I took it again, and then I, and then I was ultimately ultimately promoted, um, I got number three on that list and made it, and, uh, but it was uh, you know it. Just, I think everything happens for a reason and I, for whatever reason, I was not meant to be either. Personally, I wasn't, in my personal growth, ready to be in that position, and God knew that. And, um, and it didn't happen. And but, uh, yeah, so, uh, my original plan was to do 10 years, um, and then it took me in seven additional.
Speaker 2:But here we are, you know. Yeah, Everything happens for a reason everything happens for a reason, right?
Speaker 3:yeah, so how big is your department currently? Uh, so, right now, we have um six stations, the seven stations under construction, uh, we have 150 sworn members. The area is, uh, 270 square miles. So, yeah, that's pretty good size, what's?
Speaker 2:your shift work look like. I know a lot of people on our show. Um, we, we started to include a little background, started to include firefighters with our mission. Uh, originally we started in 2017. It was law enforcement and military. None of us were on fire, didn't understand the world of fire and as we branched out, you know we're like all right time for fire and ems and we got to learn a little bit about it. You know we went through learning about, you know, first responders, medical level and then firefighter level one and two and all those things. So, when it comes down to the structure of that, you want to like let the listeners know a little bit about what that fire looks like. I mean, it's some states seem standardized across most of the country, but some states are a little different. But when it comes down to the structure of your training, when it comes to being a firefighter, as well as what your shift work looks like, it varies across the country.
Speaker 3:Yeah yeah, definitely there's. There's, you'd be surprised. I mean, like so, in Arizona, the bulk of Arizona there's, like back East, you got a lot of volunteer departments and, in general, like the majority of firefighters I don't remember the exact numbers, the exact percentage, but the majority of firefighters are volunteer Um, and then myself, I'm a career, uh, firefighter. So, as well as the majority of the state of Arizona, almost every department in the state of Arizona is a career department. There's, there might be a couple really small places that have volunteer, but most of us are all, um, we're all career Uh, we.
Speaker 3:So in the, the Phoenix metro area, um, there's, we're part of this automatic aid system. There's 28 different agencies. Um, we all have the same, we all do the same training's. 28 different agencies. We all have the same, we all do the same training, speak the same language, we have the same SOPs, same radio frequencies, all that stuff. So we can all integrate seamlessly on a scene together, which is which is very unique to some systems, because in other places I know it's not like that. Where this department has these radios, this department has these radios and they come on the same scene and they can't talk to each other, and it's not, they got boundaries that they go to and for us it's all automatic, like it doesn't matter what city it's in or where it's at the closest truck is going to go um. And so we are staffing is we have four guys on every engine? Um, we have two paramedics and two emts on every engine, every ladder um, again, that's not necessarily the standard, the um across the nation.
Speaker 3:A lot of places have three. Some people have even two um um, and these are career places have three um seems like overall the minimum is three and then um, like I know, a large portion of California is three men staffing Um, and then they might staff their ladders for man um. Other places they they even have two men staffing and then volunteers. You kind of take what you can get. You know what I mean. So and again, and then there's places that are full paramedics. So there is a wider range.
Speaker 3:But for me, where I'm at four-man staffing, we work a 48-96 schedule. So we work two days on, four days off, and there's a variety of schedules out there. Four days off, um, and there's a variety of schedules out there. There's like a three, four kelly where the guys will do one on, one off for three days and after that third day they get four days off. Um, there's a. There's a 24, 72 out there where guys will work one day on three days off. Um, in the valley, though for the most part there's the three, four kelly, 48, 96 and then 2448.
Speaker 3:But, the 4896 really picked up quite a bit of steam as far as, just because of you're more rested, with more consecutive nights at home.
Speaker 2:Oh, that makes sense. I mean really 48 hours on, that's quite a bit, it does.
Speaker 3:Yeah, the 48 can get really long and and my station station is is it's the busiest station at my department, but we're still not insanely busy Like there's like. So we'll run. Typically at my station we run 20 calls in a tour, so we're running 10 calls a day, sometimes more, sometimes less, um, but uh, 10 calls a day. We usually get up once or twice every night, but, like my sister where she's at, she's at a very, very busy fire station and they will run over 20 calls in 24 hours and they don't even see their beds. Oh, wow, there's my bedroom. That's where I keep my stuff before I go home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, that's got to be pretty taxing. Yeah, as far as. Where was I going to go with this? I can't remember. I just had a question in my head and it escaped me. So no, so it's a very unique situation. When it comes to the full-time career, firefighters and the volunteers, I know a lot of different states have different things. You go to North Dakota and it's pretty much primarily just volunteer, except for Grand Forks, maybe Fargo, maybe Minot. You know very few and select. But you know, when it comes to the volunteer side of things, when we started to establish and bring in firefighters into the organization, when it comes to our mission, you know we're going through the fire level one and the fire level two and initially we're going to do fire level two, but then we found out like North Dakota, like I think the only people in North Dakota, their command staff, are the only one who have fire level two, two training.
Speaker 3:Most of them are fire level one uh, so yeah, yes, we're so in the valley. I guess we would all be fire level two, because what you'll do is you'll get hired and they send you the academy. In the academy, you get your firefighter one and two and, um, you come out of that academy with, like your hazmat first responder firefighter one and two. You should have your EMT.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it's very interesting when you go across the US and see the different standards. That's for EMS as well as law enforcement too. Everyone has a little bit more of a unique perspective and angle on how they engage in their careers. But no thanks for letting us know about that. But the big part that I really want to know is your social media following, so I was fully expecting the mustache to be here. Um, what happened?
Speaker 3:oh, you know I it just it comes and goes as it pleases I love it.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about that, though. So before the podcast we just talked briefly about, you know, the social media presence and really showing people behind the scenes of who you are and having some fun Not only with your personality that you do with social media, but others as well and really humanizing the badge and what goes on behind the scenes. So what really sparked that? What was the catalyst, the thing that you're like I'm going to post this video and see what happens, like what, where did that come from?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it's funny because I gave you my whole history and just glazed over that whole part.
Speaker 3:No, it's all right, but yeah, no. So back in 2011, um, you know, so my department, we do a banquet every year. You know it's, it's a uh, it has kind of turned into a charity banquet, but it used to be like an awards banquet. They still do, you know firefighter of the year, ems provider, provider of the year, chief of the year, all these different things, and it's it's a good time where families can come and hang out and do all this stuff and and. But you know, some of those events can be, you know, they can get kind of sterile, be kind of boring, and they wanted something to. We gotta, we gotta mix things up. Should we do this? Whatever? Blah, blah.
Speaker 3:And I was like you know, I've always had a passion for music and comedy, um, and making videos. I've made videos since I was in high school and, um, I was like you know, maybe, maybe, I'll make a music video and see what happens. And so, at the time, the, the song I need you now by lady annabelle was oh yeah. So me, it just kind of happened, coming back from a call, me and my partner David were, we were coming back on the rescue, which was the ambulance. We were coming back from a call and we had just run a knee pain. And it was just that monotonous call where the person's had knee pain for, you know, three months and you know now it's two in the morning and what better time to call than right now.
Speaker 4:And nothing's changed.
Speaker 3:I just figured I might as well go now, kind of thing. And so we were driving back and that song was on and it was. It was like one 15 in the morning and I was like it's a quarter after one call the 911, cause my knee hurts now and we started dying laughing and I was like maybe that's it.
Speaker 3:And I was like maybe that's it. And I was like, maybe I'll, maybe I'll make that song and I'll just redo all the lyrics. So I, um, came back and just looked up the lyrics and started changing it, writing it down, went home, um, my wife and I that's how we met was doing music, um, through our church and, uh, I came home and showed her it and she just laughed, rolled her eyes, was like oh my gosh. And so I recorded my part of it and was like hey, could you sing? It's a duet, can you say so? We sang it, harmonized together.
Speaker 3:I made the video. And it's one of those things you know in that process, that creative process, you're going over it again and again and again and you get done editing it and I'm like I look at her, I was like I don't know if this is funny. And she's like what? And I'm like I've watched a thousand times now. I don't think it's funny. I don't even know if it is funny, would it? You know? I was like, all right, we'll put it out there.
Speaker 3:And we brought it to the banquet and they play. They said we got a video, um, something different. This is from Brent Fenton, whatever they play it and the place. There was about 300 people at that banquet and the place just erupted in laughter and it was firefighters from my department, other departments, people have come from all over different sponsors and stuff and they were dying laughing. And I remember looking at my wife and we both were just in shock at one how loud everybody was laughing, and then just to how how well it was received, and then everybody wanted to know where they could see it and so I had a youtube. But it was just kind of I was just making stupid videos here and there I think my most viewed video before that had like maybe 100 views, maybe.
Speaker 3:So I said, well, it's on my youtube, you know, especially for the guys who couldn't come here on shift. So here it is and like the net, by the next morning it had like almost a million views I had gained thousands of subscribers.
Speaker 3:I was like, okay, something is happening and it was wild. It. I mean, it blew the lid off of it and created some drama because you could see the department that I worked for in it nobody knew it was gonna do that, you know, and it just kind of I never got in trouble or anything like that. But it, it was just it was knew it was gonna do that, you know, and it just kind of I never got in trouble or anything like that. But it, it was just, it was up, it was down. You had to take it down and put it back up, and take it down, put it back up. There's a bunch of other stuff with that, but that's kind of how it all launched, but kind of by accident 911.
Speaker 4:What's your emergency?
Speaker 5:yeah, I think I need to go to the hospital. My knee just started hurting. Is anything else bothering you? No, it's just my knee. Uh, okay, we'll send help. Pacing by the window Wondering if I should call, I bet they're probably sleeping. But I don't really care at all. And I wonder if I ever crossed their mind. Because I call them all the time it's a quarter after one. Because I call them all the time it's a call to Raptor One. I'm all alone and I need you now, said I wouldn't call. But I've lost all control and I need you now and I don't know how I can do without. I just need you now. Another night of wishing, hoping that nobody calls no more overdoses.
Speaker 5:I hope nobody trips and falls cuz I know we are the first thing on their mind, because they call us all the time. It's a quarter after one Calling 911, cause my knee hurts now. No, I didn't fall, I've got no complaints at all, just my knee hurts now and I don't think I can drag myself Cause my knee hurts now, cause if I get hurt I'll give you guys a call. It's a quarter after one Call the 911, cause my knee hurts now. And I bet she didn't fall, she's got no complaints at all, just her knee hurts now and I don't think I can drive myself Cause my knee hurts now. I just need you now.
Speaker 3:Oh, daisy, I need you now, and now it is really taking on a life of its own, and it's been a fun ride you got a lot of videos on there.
Speaker 2:It's. It's fun, though. Um, how do you come up with some of these things like? One of my favorite ones was recent, when um was it? Uh, there was a camper and a truck that was on fire and they, they backed up the water tender to it. Oh yeah, yep, I laughed. I think I watched that thing like 30 times and I died every time, like how do you think of that stuff? Like I, you're creative, I am not, so I'm just curious you know, a lot of it is.
Speaker 3:I just kind of, you know, I kind of pay attention to what's happening around me and uh, that that particular one is the one where I'm screaming that's not your job, that I've literally been on that call Like I. Actually a good friend of mine, he works, he works, um, for another department, but he was writing, he was trying to get hired in our department. He was writing with us and we get kicked out on this fire. It comes out as a vehicle fire and it's on the interstate. And we get in computer, says, uh, semi on fire. And so it's like, all right, this is gonna be a good one. And he had never seen a fire before. So he's super excited. You know, we're excited.
Speaker 3:Get on the freeway, huge, calm, black smoke, traffic's backing up. We're like, oh yeah, here we go. And as we're about 100 yards out, you see the smoke dramatically change from black to white. And then, as we pull up, there's no smoke and there is a county water truck right there and he just drilled it with his jet gun. Put it out, completely put it out. And we're, I was like oh, and all of us were just you know what the heck?
Speaker 2:you know you're ready to put it up yeah.
Speaker 3:And so we get there and the guy's like, yeah man, yeah, you know, and uh, we're like good job. And guy's like, yeah, man, yeah, you know, and we're like good job. And he's like are you guys mad? And I said I'm like, I'm like, no, we're not mad. He's like I thought I was being helpful. I was like you were helpful. I said that you know, I'm like we're firefighters, we want to fight fire.
Speaker 3:And he's like oh he's like no, I feel bad, I took your fun. I'm like no, dude, a hundred, 10 out of 10, a hundred percent. You, you see that you do that. Don't, don't drive by something. Put it out Like I was, like it's, you know, whatever. It's a bummer for us but you did the right thing, you know we all laugh at a good thing.
Speaker 3:But just someone had a bunch of water right now, yeah. So yeah, I, you know, just coming up with the videos, a lot of it is just from my own experiences. Or I've found that there's a fine line between just sheer comedy and when people are angry. So when I hear guys complaining about stuff, whatever, or something that happened, I'll just write it down and I'm like you know, I find that if when you're in, when you're in a situation that's making you angry, if you can like pull yourself out of that situation, kind of look at it, it is kind of funny and so like I'll write it down and then I'll sit back and look at it and kind of pull out from that like 30,000 foot level and look at it and be like if I could recreate that moment and then put it out there. People go oh my gosh, I have been that guy or I've been in that snare or that's so-and-so, and they share it and send it to this guy and this guy and everybody laughs. This is totally you.
Speaker 2:Real life scenarios that you can feed off of.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say comedy is around us. Comedy is always around us.
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Speaker 2:So you've been doing the social media stuff you said since 2011? Yeah, and do you? So? I know you do collaboration videos like that with other people, and also you're wearing a t-shirt we can talk about too, called the Fire Department Coffee Company. Yeah, so I know you do collaboration videos with others, and then also with the Fire Department Coffee. You want to talk about that at all?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, so you know I love to do collaborations. I've collaborated with a lot of different people over the years. I especially, you know it's just fun to connect with people over you know, um, it's just, it's just fun to connect with people over over you know common things, and for me, it's also a lot of fun to collaborate with people where it's just completely separate worlds and you can just come together and do fun stuff and it's just fun to to be able to, to just bring a smile to somebody's face, let people escape reality for just a little bit. You know that's that's my whole thing is is I love that for just a little bit. You know that's that's my whole thing is is I love that. My goal was to make my page and escape. You know, and I don't want to you're you're never going to see the, the videos of. You know I don't know You're not going to see. You know watches, firefighters bravely do this blah, blah. It's like, yeah, we do that. Or, or law enforcement, they do like you're going to see satire, you're going to see stuff that's funny, um, and so, yeah, collaborating is is always fun because you know you just reach broader audiences.
Speaker 3:Um, uh, I got involved with fire department coffee back at the end of 2020. Um, and so me and Jason Patton from fire department chronicles, um, him and I had talked for years, um, just kind of trying to come up with something, collaborate back and forth, and then, um, he came on board with fire department coffee, I believe in 2017. And then, um, yeah, we'd just been talking for years and then, at the end of 2020, he introduced me to um, uh, luke Schneider, who's the the uh owner of fire department coffee, and, um, they invited me out. And so, the beginning of 2021, I came out to uh, rockford, illinois, and, uh, we were gonna make a video and it was kind of like their first date with me, my first I don't know who is this guy, you know, whatever right um and uh, so yeah in rockford, yeah, and it was freaking freezing it.
Speaker 3:It was February. It was like the warmest day when we were there, it was 17,. Like ridiculous, and we were spraying each other with. We were doing a St Paddy's Day video and we were spraying each other with green water out of a fire engine and it was so free like literally couldn't film one day because it was snowing so hard. So we filmed, or we had to film a different video inside and the next day the snow was done but it was just freezing cold.
Speaker 3:But we had a great time. We hit it off, um, everybody got. I got to meet all the guys from frat apartment coffee and, um, it was just awesome. And I remember flying home and was telling my wife like it was a lot of fun. I was like I was like I really liked those guys and you know I was home for you know a day and they're calling me the next day like, hey, we'd like to make this a, not just a one-time thing. We'd like to invite you out or invite you as part of fire department coffee. So I joined the ranks of fire department coffee and have been with them ever since and it's a great time, man. We we get to travel around Um we we usually about four times a year we'll go to the Illinois fire service Institute, um in Champaign, illinois, and we'll film it's. It's always a whirlwind, we we go once a quarter.
Speaker 3:We're there, for we filmed for three days and we do about 20 videos or so in three days and it just insane. As we've gone, as we've, you know, done it more and more, we get more and more efficient and uh, but it's, it's a good time and it's been, it's been a blast to kind of come up with these fun ideas and I've actually driven out to dc, and I was on the way home two years ago and I was actually behind a fire department coffee trailer for quite a while.
Speaker 2:I probably probably had it back towards Illinois, but oh yeah, I don't know who was driving, though. Um, I tried to get a peak, but uh, but they probably were going back that way. Um, I've driven through Rockford probably a dozen times. I don't think I ever stopped there, though I can't yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah I've heard stories.
Speaker 3:Yeah, Rockford. Rockford has has some rough areas, that's all right, though Bookplace doesn't though. Yeah, but it's uh, yeah, that's that's where it's all at. You know it's um, it's uh, it's been a lot of fun and um, yeah, like, the whole city of Rockford smells like coffee now. It's awesome no-transcript.
Speaker 2:So hopefully we can make a connection here with fire department coffee a little deeper way. I think Cool. So as far as your your, you have your outlet with your videos and the satire that you do. You have a good support network and whatnot. But you know, in the fire industry do you do anything with wildland fire or just purely structure.
Speaker 3:No, so I'm also. So my department you know, we have a special ops division in that we have our technical rescue hazmat and our wildland team and so, um, so I'm a member of our wildland team as well. A lot of our area it's a it's a pretty diverse area. Like I said, it's 270 square miles. We've got everything from like where my station's at. You know, we're right in the middle of two large care homes.
Speaker 3:There's a mall right down the street, like it's it's city, and then you go, you know, five miles to the North and you're going to get into some like urban interface, where people have large, larger acre, you know, larger square foot homes, larger acreage properties, and it gets out into open land. So it's 270 square miles, but a lot of that is open desert. So we do a lot of wild land, a lot of wild land, urban interface, um, and so actually, just uh, three weeks weeks ago I just got back from a two-week deployment, so we'll deploy all over the state. Um, we'll go all over really anywhere in the country. Um, we, just we have a truck that just got back from idaho, so oh, I'll go kind of go all over yeah well, it's a small world.
Speaker 2:I actually, uh, with my career I I deployed a wildfires too to help with security as a security level too. You know, and I've been in montana, northern california, oregon, um northern minnesota for all that stuff. You know the red card side of things, yep, you know, and it's interesting because not a lot of departments do have that ability. You know, some of our volunteers do have um an outstate minnesota, do have some of that minimal training, but it's a whole different. I think a lot of people don't really understand. You know, people see you're a firefighter and they mainly think structured fire you know, and when you talk about wildfire.
Speaker 2:we have a gentleman coming on the podcast in a couple of weeks here who does nothing about wildland fire, and I'm really excited to have him at least be able to share his experiences and educate individuals on what wildland fires. When you're in the Midwest up here, you know wildland fire is not something you hear very often, but out West it's a it's constant, especially down by you too, with how dry it is, oh yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we send, and pretty much every deployment. I mean, you're going into a deployment knowing that it's going to be, at a minimum, 14 days. It could go up to 21. But, yeah, you know, we go all over. We send everything from UTVs with paramedics on them to all the way up to, like, type 3 engines. We've done Type 1. We sent Type 1s to California when it was burning a few years ago.
Speaker 3:I went to Napa in 2017 on a Type 3 engine just up there for a couple weeks and, yeah, I love it because, I mean again, I love the outdoors and I love the camp and a lot of it is. You're going into the most beautiful places you would otherwise have no reason to go to and you're fighting. You know you're fighting fire. You're camping out. You're doing it with your friends. You know, and it's just it's it's hard work. Um, you get to go out there. You get to see these friends. You know, and it's just it's it's hard work. Um, you get to go out there, you get to see these spots, you make a little bit extra money and then you come home and you get to bring also that experience back to your department and, yeah, um but it's sleep for an entire week straight when you're done yeah, I don't know how those guys do it.
Speaker 3:It's crazy, oh yeah yeah, the hot shot guys, the hot shot guys, the hand crews, that I mean that's crazy, it's a different beast for sure, the lack of protection.
Speaker 2:Like you know, they're going in with their green pants and yellow shirt and a helmet and I mean obviously some other things.
Speaker 3:They're fire shelter and but it's just wild, especially with how quick everything can change in a heartbeat I mean, that's any fire but yeah, I don't think people really understand the uh, it's not just, you know, going out in the woods and being like, yeah, let's, I guess we'll do something here. There's, there's. I mean, every wildland guy is like, is like a meteorologist, you know what I mean like they all are very in tune with the weather, what the weather patterns do, what the weather does, what the weather is doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, humidity and inversions and all these things, and like what that means for fire growth, fire spread, all that stuff they're all very in tune with that, because if you're not, that's what's going to kill you. You know weather, field, topography, the three things that move wildfires around, and and uh, and if you're not paying attention to all those, um, yeah, you're going to get, you're going to find yourself in a bad situation. And you can be paying attention to all those and still end up in a bad situation. Because that's one thing we always say in the fire service is we work in the world of you know, crap happens and sometimes it just happens, right.
Speaker 2:What's the movie about the hot shots down there? Was that New Mexico or was that Arizona? That was?
Speaker 3:Arizona yeah. I can't remember the name of it, but it's the Granite, only the Brave, I think. Maybe.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, that sounds great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's the Granite Mountain guys from Prescott. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if the listeners, if you ever want to really see what Wildland Firefighters do, go watch that movie and how much things can change in a heartbeat. It's a really good tribute to them and a very unfortunate circumstance. But uh, you know, that's the things that our our firefighters deal with, especially in structures too. I mean, you guys have your risks, especially too yep, that's a.
Speaker 3:That's a prime example of you know highly trained people and sometimes it doesn't matter how trained you are. Things can just change and it's out of your control and it's unfortunate for sure it is.
Speaker 2:So you're saying, uh, about being out in the wildland, fires and whatnot and being enjoying being out in nature and it's definitely. You get to see some pretty cool scenery with that. But let's talk about that bull that's sitting behind you yeah early on. You talked about elk hunting, yeah, and mule deer hunting. Let's talk about that. What got you into that? When did that start?
Speaker 3:you know what? It's funny? I am very new, I'm I'm probably two years in. I grew up my uh, so my dad wasn't a big hunter, um, and I think it's just probably because neither was my grandpa um my. Neither of my grandpas were my uh, my, so my grandpa. I'm sorry, I have adhd, so sometimes I go down these little paths and get you to where I want to be.
Speaker 2:Don't worry, get both of us on a podcast.
Speaker 3:It's a great idea. So my grandfather on my mom's side. He died when I was young, I was like three, and so my grandma got remarried to my step grandpa, which I just consider my grandpa. But anyway, bob was an avid hunter, avid, avid hunter, um, and I grew up where animals were like personified, you know, watch disney movies and I'm like I don't want to kill bambi's dad or mom. That's messed up, you know. And then you know, and literally that was kind of how it was in my mind until, like I got older and was like man. You know, like it's a great skill to have. I would, I love being outdoors. I don't really know anything about it. I started learning about it and to quickly realize that is not the case at all, like they're not just like happy families running around out there and that is, and they will kill each other trying to get to, you know, a doe, or you know, or a cow, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like not all sunshine and rainbows.
Speaker 3:Not at all. Yeah, like I fall that page. Nature is metal and I'm like, yes, that is, it is metal.
Speaker 3:That's right, that's accurate, yeah, and so um, you know, I just I was always intrigued by um, archery and just cause I'm like, I'm like I just feel like that's not, that rifle hunting is not hunting, but like archery is like hunting. Hunting Like you have got to get in, and then I've learned and cause again I don't know, like the, the tree stand in a cornfield is not a thing out here, like it's just not, that's, we just don't have that. So mule deer hunting in the desert is incredibly hard and this is I'm speaking from two years experience doing it. But it's incredibly hard and every, every bow hunter that I've talked to is like, oh no, there's no bones about it, it's hard.
Speaker 3:People are like, oh, so you got in hunting, so you picked the most difficult thing to do. But man, I it is. It's just every time I go out I learn something. Um, you know, and I was that guy where, um, uh, everybody's like okay, you know, get, buy a bow. You know, get, get some camo or whatever, start doing, but start putting in. Just start putting in, because it's going to take you a while to get drawn.
Speaker 3:And I get drawn for an archery bull I want to tag last year and I'm like so you know, I'm dropping yeah, dropping thousands of dollars, getting everything, and then here we go, you know, and it's like the the hardest thing I've ever done, greatest thing I've ever done, hooked for life, for sure. Um, you know, I I did not fill my tag, which was unfortunate.
Speaker 3:I that's hunting yeah, and, and that's that's. See, that's what I learned too was like I thought, well, when you go hunting, you, oh, you're always successful, and that is not the case, very much not. And so, yeah, and and so, like last year when I went out you know, they it was I went out with um, with my friend jim, and he's a very experienced hunter, and even he was like man, this is a difficult year because they just weren't running, they just did not run. It wasn't literally until like the last night we got a cold snap and then they were just ripping bugles and and I'm just like, where was this the last two weeks, you know? And I did get a shot on one, um, I was by myself, so I went out, I did, you know it was, I did 11 days total.
Speaker 3:The last four days I was by myself, and so I like sat water because I'm like man, like I can call, but I don't I'm not good at all the different, like I can do like a locator, bugle, cow call, but I can't do like chuckles and all that kind of stuff. So I'm like right, you know there's a lot going on, trying to get into positions on these animals, and and so, um, uh, it was like the next to last night. I sat water. I was in just like a little brushed out blind, and I was able to call in a bull and it and it was, uh, it was uh, six by six. Nothing crazy huge, but it was good. I was insanely. I didn't anticipate how much I would be shaking and uh it was. He was 40 yards, he was in the water, um, he turned a bugle. I drew back, I shot and I hit his shoulder and I knew just just that hard stick and I knew it.
Speaker 3:I could see that it only went in about that far. He jumped up. I calcaled, he ran up what I thought was another 10 yards, so I knocked another arrow again. I don't know what. I don't know right, I'm thinking he's gonna run in any second, which I definitely had time to range him again. But I was just like. I'm like I think that's, I think that's 50 yards, so I put a draw back, I let one fly he was probably more like 60 yards and it, just right under his belly, hit the ground, took off, it sparked, he took off running and man, yeah, and just didn't get it, didn't make it happen. I was, but I'll tell you what I came back and told my wife for not being successful. Um, I was I. I came back feeling incredibly fulfilled and like I still felt like I won because I learned. You know, now I feel like when I go in the woods, I don't, uh, I don't feel lost.
Speaker 2:No, it's good. So I mean, you're a brand new hunter and the way you look at it it's a, it's a puzzle, right? You got 100 pieces and you put all 99 pieces together actually almost got that last one all the way in there, right? I mean, for your first year, that's pretty impressive. That's really cool.
Speaker 3:It was cool, man. It, like I said, I mean just absolute rush and and and. Man, I don't care how tough you are, how tough you think you are, four days in the woods by yourself is sketchy. Like when I was, when I was trying to track and like, so I went over, I went to where I so I went to where I hit him, I ranged back to or where I did the second shot and ranged back and that's how I knew I was like, okay, that was like, yeah, that was.
Speaker 3:I was off on my yardage but I was looking for blood, didn't see and and I saw as he ran off. I mean, my arrow was probably, you know, it, hit that bone, it's he's going to knock it off in a tree and be totally fine. But I, I followed his, his tracks for like a mile and a half and it was pitch black by myself. Then I get in some rocky area and I couldn't see his tracks anymore. I'm like I need to get back to the side by side and I, like I remember, called my buddy, my buddy Jared, and I was like and he works, he actually works for marsupial no-transcript, just in case I get a mountain lion, take me out, or something somebody knows?
Speaker 2:and it can get really sketchy when that sun goes down. Nothing good happens when the sun goes down, that's for sure, that's pretty cool.
Speaker 2:No good for you. That's exciting. I've always been an outdoor enthusiast myself, but I started my hunting career a little later in life too, which is nothing wrong with that. I think the best thing is being able to not only get out there and just relax and reset yourself, but spending that time with others too. You said you had gone with a friend for several days too you know, like those are memories that you can't get elsewhere.
Speaker 3:Yeah for sure, that was uh good. I was just, yeah, I mean it just instantly hooked and I told my wife like just a little bit ago I was like man, it's like because I'm getting ready to go hunting with my, so my brother-in-law got a cow tag and so we're gonna go, um, like october 17th, I think, it opens up the 18th, so we're going up like 17th to the 20th and we're just I'm just like so excited because, you know, I and I still haven't cleaned one. So like, yeah, I'm excited, like, if nothing else, I want to be there for that, so I can, can, I can still just learn, you know, cleaning an animal, yeah, biggest animal I've cleaned is a white tail, so it's.
Speaker 2:That's quite the task, especially when you're humped in there, you know, and you gotta get back to your side by side or whatever. It's a lot of work, yeah for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's deer between Arizona and New Mexico oh, yeah, yeah on the San Carlos uh reservation that that used I don't know if it still is, but it used to have the world record elk on, I mean massive. I got to go on a wildfire there a few years ago and I was just like, oh, I mean, the wildlife was incredible on that trip too bear and whitetail and like massive whitetail deer and massive elk.
Speaker 2:It's just incredible yeah, well, and arizona is a very diverse state too. You know, a lot of people think arizona, I think cactus and hot, hot, I mean that's there. But uh, I went to flagstaff a few years ago and, uh, I don't think my wife at the time realized that there was that much snow there and she was not happy with me.
Speaker 2:yeah, we were way up there and it was absolutely gorgeous. But being from Minnesota and being a Minnesota driver, and getting up there and watching people in two-wheel drive with chains on their tire was kind of comical, I'm not going to lie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we don't know how to drive in snow, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:I don't blame you. How often do? You have it, but turn it around on us. I can't go anywhere without air conditioning where you guys are ever, so that's how it goes, but no, that's super cool. Congratulations on, you know, having a nearly successful hunt.
Speaker 3:Um, but hopefully things will turn around for you this next season. Yeah, that that's. You know, I'm hoping, man, I was telling my wife I'm like it's just not fair and she's like what? I'm like? It was like the single most fun thing I've ever done in my life and I can't do it every year because I gotta get drawn for it.
Speaker 2:You know I can do over the counter, but yeah, yeah suppose you go up to colorado and do over the counter up there too. Yeah, that's not too far, at least, but yeah, no, that's cool. Well, thank you for coming on the podcast. Uh, you know, one of the things I really really wanted to talk about too since we have a few more minutes here was about the mental health side of things you know and some of the ups and downs that people experience in these professions and whatnot, and I just want to. Is there, what are the things that work for you to help with positive reinforcement of your mental health, like when you're having a downtime?
Speaker 3:I know you do your social media, but is there something else out there that maybe others could dive into a little bit? For when it comes to self-preservation mind, body, soul yeah, I think for me, the things that really have helped me with maintaining my mental health throughout my career, would one, like you said we talked about this behind the curtain of like who I am outside of the fire service I think that's a big thing is like I don't have my identity wrapped up in um, the fact that I'm a firefighter. I love being a firefighter, I'm proud to be a firefighter, um, I'm it's. It's an amazing, fulfilling career. Um, it'll give you everything and it'll also take everything, but for me, it's just. I've just remembered that you know I'm a husband and I'm a father. You know I'm a friend, I'm a brother, I'm a son, I'm all these things, and what I do for work is a firefighter. And sometimes I feel like people can get it flipped on where I'm a firefighter who happens to be these other things, and because you know when you you know, god forbid you have a career ending, injury or anything like that, or or something happens in the career that you just didn't anticipate. It can be really unsettling when your foundation is shaken from you and now you're like what am I left with? And so for me, you know, my foundation is in my faith, you know in Jesus Christ and and and my family and that, just for me, it's really what keeps me solid. You know, it keeps me centered. You know we live in a broken world with broken people, and you know I just, uh, you know we live in a broken world, um, with broken people, and you know I, just for, for me, my faith in Jesus is what is, is what helps me, it was what gives me hope, cause I know it's not always going to be like this Um and um actually, and for me also, um, um actually, and for me also, um, uh, just having like outdoors, that escape.
Speaker 3:You know, for me, the outdoor, the outdoors and my family, all these things, my comedy, my faith, these are all escapes from all the garbage, all the stuff that's happening, the the bad things I see on calls and things like that. Um, it makes me more appreciative of when things are like, when I, when I do get off duty and I get to spend time with my family, and things like that. Um, it makes me more appreciative of when things are like when I, when I do get off duty and I get to spend time with my family and stuff like that, you know, I realized that not everybody gets that luxury and um, so for me it's it's I it's spending time with. For me, hobbies are big things, so like music. Um, I love to play music, play guitar big thing, so like music. Um, I love to play music, play guitar, drums.
Speaker 3:Um, I love to just go hike. I like to go out and do glass and you know, in the outdoors, for me to just just to get out, I just feel like, you know, nature is just such a so healing in itself, and just getting out there and just being in nature, I don't know what it is, it's just good for our souls. Um, uh, for me, I also know that when I start to, I can start to feel like I'll start to know like man I need to do is if I'm like not physically active. That's when I really will start to notice like man. I just, overall, generally feel like crap. Um, my mental health feels like crap, I just feel sluggard, I don't want to do anything, I don't want to go anywhere, I don't want to see anything you know, um, but if I'm consistent with um, working out um and, like my diet, eating good stuff, it's just good in, good out, I think, I believe, and um, and honestly, recently, dude, I got into um.
Speaker 3:You know, I've seen this whole cold plunging trend oh yeah stuff, and at the gym we go to it has a cold point and I've gone by and I'm like absolutely not screw that. That's terrible. I started doing it like and this is only within like the last two months and dude, like my mood overall, like people like see me on the oh, he's funny guy and this, and that I'm like I'm still just a normal guy that has the same struggles. I still get frustrated, get angry at stupid things that I shouldn't. I have four children right, yes, like I still have life.
Speaker 3:Life still hits me, just like it hits everybody else.
Speaker 3:But I would say, man, that that, whatever that does to you, like the cold plunge with the different uh, you know, releasing the different hormones in your body, man, like, overall, my general, just the things that I'm passionate about, sticking with my passions is really what it's.
Speaker 3:Having that escape from the fire service, because a lot of times and this is just me speaking from what I've seen and and having friends that would probably admit the same thing when you're completely wrapped up in just your job and just your career, you just don't have an escape. And I've even had to and sometimes, like I go through, you know, on social media, and I will unfollow pages and it's nothing personal to the creator or anything like that, it's just I can't have that keep coming into my feed. Um, I, I just I got to clean that up, get that out of there, because it can, it can be. You know, it's an echo chamber, whether it's good or bad, and if it's negative stuff like that, it's just going to keep feeding you that same thing and that can be really bad for your mental health. And I also recommend staying out of comment sections no, I can't imagine.
Speaker 2:I mean you guys, and the comment section has got to be crazy, but I feel you, I mean I get it with our social media too and just being outdoor enthusiasts that like to hunt, we get it too, but I, that's probably really good advice.
Speaker 2:The cold plunge, though it's interesting you brought that up because, um, uh, this last february we had, uh, two burnsville officers and a firefighter that were murdered on a call up here and, uh, we put together a, uh, a mental health and wellness day for them, and for that, you know, we brought in our friends at Abaij, on the backside, that does equine therapy with horses, and then we brought in another person, brittany Misquick, with wellness that fits, she's a psychologist and then we came in as well, and one of the things that we did was not only let them know about who we are and what we do as an organization, but we brought in Asana I'm sorry the northerners will kill me for saying it that way a sauna, and we brought a cold plunge with as well.
Speaker 2:You know, and the feedback that we got from the PD and the fire about the cold plunge, it was huge. Everyone thought it was just amazing how cleansing it felt. You know, to get all warm and loosened up, almost uncomfortable, and then go sit in a freezing cold bath does not sound interesting at all. But they said that what it did for them like releases endorphins or whatnot, but just like a reset of the body.
Speaker 3:It really does, and that's that. I'm exactly the same way Like. I freaking hate cold water, but the cold plunge. If you're going to do it, I say, just get in it. Don't don't go slow, just get in it, cause otherwise you'll never.
Speaker 3:Yeah, if you just get in it, the first 15 seconds suck, and then you're good, and then it's just like your body, I mean you're, you're cold, but like, and then, and then when you get out and like, if you like, pass, like you know you'll, you'll shiver and stuff like that, but it's like, it's just makes you feel so energized, feels good. Like I said, my mood is improved. And then my wife also has a um she she owns her own uh mobile IV business and she does like wellness stuff and she also has a hyperbaric chamber. Oh cool.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, very good things about those, the H-Bot, yeah.
Speaker 4:It's legit. Huh, that's pretty cool. That's interesting. Yeah, this one's scary. 66% of Americans would struggle to pay for a thousand dollar emergency. We don't. This one's scary 66% of Americans would struggle to pay for a thousand dollar emergency. We don't keep any money in the savings accounts, right. The scary part about that is is that eight out of 10 of us watching this right now are going to experience a $5,000 whoopsie. Every 10 years, something's going to happen. Kid's going to break a leg and there's going to be out-of-pocket max medical that year. Right, there's going to be a hell storm or a fire or some kind of a natural disaster that causes us to have to write a big old check for our deductible for the roof replacement or the car. Right, something's going to happen, and I want you to think back to the last time you had a financial emergency. Was it the event that caused the stress or was it trying to figure out how to pay for the event that caused the stress?
Speaker 2:well, thank you, sir. I appreciate you joining us. Uh, do you have any taglines or anything you want to do with your personality before we leave the podcast, for a little hook for everyone? Uh, I put you on the spot. You can say no.
Speaker 3:I don't know if I already tagged on. Yeah, Check out Firefighter Finn morons.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I'll look very.
Speaker 3:If you check me out, I'll look very different. My voice will sound different. There's people that I've watched and go is that you? Yeah. So, so, in case you haven't figured it out, the mustache is not real um but I'm disappointed.
Speaker 3:Last time we were filming in illinois I was. It was before we just got done eating and so I'm in the bathroom and I'm putting it on and this guy walks in and goes my whole life was a lie and I started laughing. I was like I was like, oh, sorry man, he goes. And the voice I was like, yeah, sorry, sorry man, he goes. And the voice I was like, yeah, sorry man, I'm a huge fraud. And he started I'm all, I'm actually a firefighter, but he started laughing.
Speaker 2:That's hilarious, but he's like I.
Speaker 3:Just he's like oh my gosh, my whole life was a lie. I was like sorry.
Speaker 2:That's hilarious. No, thanks for coming on.
Speaker 3:Do you do any speaking engagements or anything, contact you for anything like that? I have, yeah, in the past I've I've gone a couple times and actually we went to um, went to new zealand, oh yeah, uh, yeah earlier this year and that was that was amazing got to go there and um uh, I got to mc the uh they do it was for the blood cancer leukemia uh like foundation in in auckland, new zealand, and um got to go there and did the firefighter sky tower challenge, so I got to compete. Got to go there and did the Firefighter Sky Tower Challenge, so I got to compete, got to do the climb in the Sky Tower, which was awesome, and then that evening I got to MC their event. So that was really really cool. I've done some other speaking engagements and stuff at some different conventions.
Speaker 2:That's cool. So how do people get a hold of you if they want to Not only just follow you on social media, but get ahold of you for something like that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, social media, or at just firefighterfenton at gmailcom Very good.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks for coming on. I appreciate it. I hope to have some more conversations with you down the road and do something with fire department coffee. Maybe we can get you up here for a gala in March. We'll have to let you know what our dates look like, but I think people like to see up here.
Speaker 2:I think we have uh individual um named aj. He does a social media. Oh no, it's the popo, not sure if you've. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, he might be coming up for that. So, um, yeah, it's just fun to get everyone in the same room that has a good personality and be able to humanize things a little bit. But I really do appreciate you coming on, though. Thank you, yeah, thank you so much for having me. This is awesome. Yeah, yeah, and uh, I'll just hang on for a minute after the podcast and we'll talk up a couple quick things. But, uh, for our listeners, uh, thank you for tuning in and, as brent said, you can find him as firefighter fenton on all the social media platforms and his youtube. And just go dig in. It's just a nice little break and kind of refreshing to have a little humor in your life and take a peek into the profession of the firefighting world and it's a lot of fun. So thank you again, brent, and everybody. Thanks for listening and we'll see you on the next podcast. Thank you.
Speaker 1:The Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast is made possible by the following sponsors O'Neill Electric Contractors. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association. Relentless Defender, apparel and Financial Cop Financial Advisors. Thank you for listening to the Hometown Hero Outdoors podcast. For more information, visit our website at hometownherooutdoorsorg.
